Show #133: Our Interview with Marlins Beat Writer Clark Spencer
Clark Spencer from the Miami Herald joins us to compare and contrast Bobby and Fredi Gonzalez and to discuss the Dan Uggla acquisition.
147 Responses to “Show #133: Our Interview with Marlins Beat Writer Clark Spencer”
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Pages: « 1 2 [3] 4 5 6 » Show All
December 8th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Pretty great JPos article on the Frenchy signing. http://bit.ly/fwlfW1
December 8th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Steve, the article on Sherrill you linked closes with this:
“However, it will likely be very difficult for Fredi Gonzalez to properly balance keeping the rest of his bullpen healthy and properly using Sherrill. Particularly in the National League, where reliever substitutions happen quite often in the late game due to pinch hitting, Sherrill’s skills just don’t seem to provide enough given his limitations and the scarcity of roster spots.”
I have to call B.S.
He’s taking a very opaque route to just repeat “don’t use the guy against righties.” Any club who carries a LOOGY deals with that. If he’s the only guy that can’t be put in against righties, that’s the least of their worries. Every bullpen in the league has a mop-up, or “oh no” bullpen arm, and some have two or three (Florida had five I think). We have none this year. Remember that there is no Chavez, no Kawakami, no arm in the pen that is anything less than a legit option against most any hitter, besides Sherrill, who positively owns lefties.
Yeah, if Venters or Kimbrel falter, we’ll have issues. We would have anyway, though, and we weren’t gonna get that solved any better than this for a million clams.
I don’t just love the signing. But I think it’s pretty good, with a potential to be brilliant.
December 8th, 2010 at 10:27 pm
p.s. The National Leagues habit of changing pitchers more often late in the game gives Atlanta more, not less, opportunity for using Sherrill wisely. I like fangraphs a lot, but I’m not so sure about this guy/article.
December 8th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
Bub – I have to admit that it simultaneously rattles me and calms me when you’re more positive about a move than I am.
December 8th, 2010 at 11:16 pm
“it simultaneously rattles me and calms me ”
I’m like spiked coffee I suppose…
December 9th, 2010 at 10:04 am
So mark Carl Carwford off our list. I was SO certain that was Wren’s next move…..
Come on Rangers. Don’t let Cliff Lee become a Yank
December 9th, 2010 at 10:56 am
it’s gonna happen. I would be amazed if Lee was anything but a Yankee. After losing out on Werth, Crawford, and Diaz, there is no way they don’t throw the bank at him. Throw in his relationship with Sabathia, and the fact that they probably offer him 8 years for 175 mil, I dare say it is a foregone conclusion.
December 9th, 2010 at 11:11 am
The Yanks will definitely get Lee. And I bet it happens today. I’ve seen multiple reports this morning that the Yankees have upped their offer from 6 to 7 years, which gets them up to the max number of years he’s being offered from any team. Again, it is a foregone conclusion.
December 9th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
I’m just happy it’s all happening in the American League. It’s a travesty that there is nothing in place to keep this from happening over and over, but it looks like the National League is being protected from it by the baseball gods.
Only the Mets threatened to join that Buy Everybody freak show, and they fizzled out before they even got a foothold. The Phillies spend a lot, but A) they do have some restraints and B) that horrible Howard contract is going to make those restraints that much more palpable very soon.
So as it turns out, the Braves and their fellow NL’ers only have to worry about the World Series. And anybody with good pitching can win one of those once they get to it.
December 9th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
In the year 2015:
Tex, 22.5 million, 36 years old
Sabathia 23 million, 35 years old (and large)
A-Rod 21 million, 40 years old
Lee (probably) 23 million, 37 years old
Should be interesting.
December 10th, 2010 at 1:15 am
So Fredi G mentions Jordan Schafer as a possible back-up option to McLouth…. I don’t know which is more terrifying, going into the season with McLouth as our starting CF or Schafer as his back-up. Yikes. Fredi must think he can do some serious head out of rear end pulling with some of our biggest disappointments the last 2 seasons.
December 10th, 2010 at 1:46 am
Nate, it sounds like we will have a black hole in the line up and that’s just all there is to it. Let’s just pray it finds its way to the 8th place in the line up.
I have comforting news: At the end of the month in which Nate McLouth had the most plate appearances in 2010, we took over first place. Why? Cuz we had a slugger. For two whole months we had a slugger in Atlanta.
In 2011, we have a slugger from beginning to end.
December 10th, 2010 at 10:39 am
Nate – it is also conceivable that Schafer can come back. The stuff about needing a full 12 months of recovery from his wrist injury is pretty compelling in DOB’s latest blog. And it’s easy to forget, but he looked great in Spring Training of ’09 and even better that first week of the season. It could all still be there.
December 10th, 2010 at 11:41 am
Steve, I just read the BIG Schafer piece from DOB. Last night I had only read the stuff from Fredi G. The guy is obviously working his butt off to get back to the big leagues. I wish him the best. Schafer has an unbelievable amount of talent. I hope he puts it all together. That said, I want to see it to believe it. Hope is one thing, belief is another.
December 10th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
I mostly think the Schafer ship has sailed. But if he can out-defend Nate and match him (puke) offensively, I’d rather have him out there chasing down flies.
December 10th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Official Braves Release about the George Sherrill signing:
Braves Agree To Terms With Left-Handed Pitcher George Sherrill
Tennessee Native Joins Braves Bullpen
ATLANTA – The Atlanta Braves announced today that they have agreed to terms with free-agent left-handed pitcher George Sherrill on a one-year contract for the 2011 season. Financial terms of the deal were not announced.
Sherrill, 33, went 2-2 with a 6.69 ERA last season with the Dodgers as he led the team with 65 appearances. He has pitched in parts of seven seasons in the major leagues, including a postseason appearance in 2009.
A 2008 All-Star, Sherrill owns the lowest opponents’ batting average (.160) against left-handed batters since 2006. Over his career, he has held left-handers to a .167 average, including a .192 (14-for-73) mark last season.
“George gives us a left-handed reliever that has experience closing and his 51 saves in the American League East in 2008 and 2009 have demonstrated his effectiveness,” Braves Executive Vice President and General Manager Frank Wren said. “He and Scott Linebrink add the veteran leadership we were looking for.”
The Tennessee native has appeared in 389 career major-league games with the Seattle Mariners, the Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He owns a 16-16 record and a 3.76 ERA in 287.0 innings of work. A graduate of Austin Peay State University, Sherrill was originally signed by Seattle as a non-drafted free agent in 2003 after pitching for five seasons in independent leagues.
December 10th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Very difficult to look past that ERA but I’ll trust Fredi never to use him against righties.
December 10th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Great interview. Braves front office stats guy: http://bit.ly/e2dE0g
December 10th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
That was nice reading, Steve. I see that Eno guy pop up with a lot of Braves articles on fangraphs. Do you know if he’s from the ATL?
December 11th, 2010 at 1:26 am
Here’s a weird split for ya: Kawakami has a 3.92 ERA when McCann is catching for him, which was most of his starts.
He’s got a 5.43 ERA when Ross catches for him.
It’s not like the rest of the pitching staff splits up that way – it’s about even, with Lowe and Hanson doing a little better with McCann and Hudson and Jurrjens doing a little better with Ross.
Anyway… I’m bored, so, yeah.
December 11th, 2010 at 9:49 am
If only someone with similar literary appreciation had a good book to recommend. If…only…
December 11th, 2010 at 11:15 am
Royals… wow.
December 11th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Royals … wow. Indeed. And it gets stranger with every signing.
Curt – loved your tweet about it.
Bub, re #69, no idea.
December 12th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Post.
December 12th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Post-Leah’s post post.